Passing of former Orion executive chef, Lothar Greiner

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News has reached our desk of the sudden passing of executive chef, Lothar Greiner, well known to guests aboard the former Orion Expeditions as head chef.

"We lost one of our wonderful Orion family members. Lothar was with us from the beginning and Tracy his wife was our Hotel Manager," former chairman of Orion, Sarina Bratton, told ExpeditionCruising, "We won numerous, back-to-back Gourmet Traveller Food awards."

A Celebration of Life will be held later this week in his home town of Noosa in Queensland.

Greiner moved to Lindblad as Manager of Culinary Operations when Orion came under the control of stalwart US-based expedition cruise company, Lindblad Expeditions, in 2013.

Our condolences to wife, Tracey, and his many friends in the industry.

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Windstar Cruises’ New Star Seeker Floats Out in Portugal

The new Star Seeker yacht, the first Star Class new build for small ship line Windstar Cruises, has floated out of the building dock, touching water for the first time at the WestSEA Shipyard in Viana do Castelo, Portugal.

Statement regarding HX vessel Fridtof Nansen - now returned to service

UPDATE: MS Fridtof Nansen returned to service. Remainder of season unaffected.

On November 16th, a contained technical issue occurred on our vessel, MS Fridtjof Nansen. The ship is continuing its planned journey to the disembarkation port, Ushuaia, and will arrive on November 18th. We can confirm that all passengers and crew are safe and accounted for.

Silversea Kicks Off Its 2024/2025 Antarctica Season

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Silver Endeavour, one of the world’s most luxurious expedition ships, embarks on Silversea’s first Antarctica voyage of the 2024/2025 season

Three Ships, 34 Voyages, Up To 80 Landing Sites

Silversea, a leading experiential luxury and expedition cruise travel brand, has kicked off its 2024/2025 Antarctica season with Silver Endeavour hosting guests on an 18-day voyage to South Georgia, the South Shetland Islands, and the Antarctic Peninsula. Between October 29, 2024, and March 10, 2025, Silversea will deploy three ships to the continent, undertaking 34 voyages in the austral summer as part of one of the broadest and most diverse Antarctica offerings in luxury expedition travel.

Expedition ship damaged in South Georgia [updated]

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Albatros Expeditions Ocean Victory (file image)

Information is slowly coming in and it seems Albatros Expeditions' vessel, Ocean Victory, sustained some damage while in South Georgia, possibly to a stabiliser. Previously reported as Antarctica.

As can be seen on Cruise Mapper, the ship is heading to Ushuaia under its own power and at a respectable 12-13kts. It should arrive on the morning of November 14th to carry out inspections and possible repairs. There are no reported injuries to passengers or crew.

The ship was about halfway through a 19-day Antarctica, South Georgia and Falklands Islands itinerary and was due to head to the Antarctic Peninsula.

A statement from Albatros Expeditions CEO Jakob Lunøe has been received"

During the early hours of November 9th, 2024, MV Ocean Victory sustained damage from an unknown source, affecting the stabilizer system of the vessel and causing slight water ingress into void spaces on the vessel. This damage was sustained off the coast of the island of South Georgia in the South Atlantic Ocean.

Thankfully, nobody onboard has sustained any injuries from this incident, nor is there any immediate risk to the vessel or those onboard after our crew worked hard to minimize the impact of the damage. However, after a thorough initial assessment of the damage, the Captain and owners of MV Ocean Victory have taken the difficult decision to return immediately to port to make necessary repairs to the vessel. The safety of our guests, crew and vessels is our utmost priority. We are grateful to the guests onboard MV Ocean Victory for their understanding and patience during this difficult period and thank them for their continued support as we worked to return them and the vessel safely to South America.

How this will affect the remainder of the ship's season is unclear. 

We will continue to update this report as new details come to hand.

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Expedition Ship Review: Swan Hellenic Diana

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In November, we were fortunate to be invited to review Swan Hellenic's newest expedition ship, SH Diana, on an outstanding voyage from Seychelles to the African coast, the ‘Paradise Isles of the Indian Ocean’ . You can read the semi-daily posts below and this ship review for Expedition Cruise Specialists  

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Expedition Kit: This little Bluetooth speaker could get you into trouble.

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Review: Ultimate Ears MINIROLL Bluetooth Speaker

Once upon a time, those little add-on speakers for your Walkman, Apple iPod or MP3 player were tinny, rattly little things that had all the HiFi quality of fingernails down a blackboard.

Seabourn announces 2026-2027 Expeditions

Seabourn, a leader in ultra-luxury cruising and expedition travel, has unveiled its new 2026-2027 expedition itineraries to the world's most remote and exotic destinations. The line's two new ultra-luxury expedition ships Seabourn Venture and Seabourn Pursuit, are scheduled to visit up to 161 destinations in 31 countries on 24 unique sailings of 46 departures:

BREAKING: Paspaley Pearl cancels 2025 bookings

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Updated: 6 Nov 24

The much-anticipated luxury Kimberley expedition vessel, Paspaley Pearl, will not sail its inaugural 2025 season as planned and has cancelled future bookings.

The website (since taken offline) carried the simple message:

Industry insiders are speculating about the future of the 56m, 32-passenger boutique vessel, which was to be managed by Ponant and championed by industry identity Sarina Bratton. Bratton was contacted for comment, but declined.

According to reports received by Expedition Cruising, Ponant sales reps contacted trade partners to advise that Ponant would no longer be marketing the vessel. Competing operators have also emailed their respective databases offering places to passengers displaced by the cancellations.

In a statement sent to ExpeditionCruising, Ponant Asia-Pacific CEO Deb Corbett said:

"PONANT regrets to inform its valued customers and travel partners that the proposed cruise program to operate on PASPALEY PEARL is not proceeding with Ponant as the cruise operator. However, PONANT remains dedicated to exploring the Kimberley, Australia’s Far North, Papua New Guinea and East Indonesia, with over 40 explorations on PONANT’s Le Soleal and Le Jacques Cartier over the next 2 years. Guests holding reservations have been advised that they will receive a full refund or alternatively, guests can receive a travel credit with an additional 15% saving to choose a cruise on PONANT’s fleet across the globe, which is combinable with the PONANT Bonus Savings and PONANT Yacht Club benefits for members of the club. Guests have until 31 December 2025 to book an alternative cruise for travel at any time. Trade partners have been advised that their commission will be fully protected. PONANT continues to innovate and develop new experiences and looks forward to sharing this pioneering spirit with future travellers”.

Launched by now-defunct operator, Island Escape Cruises, the vessel was arrested in 2022 and later sold at auction. The Pearling dynasty, Paspaley, purchased the vessel for a reported A$5.5 million.

Have you been affected by these cancellations? Let us know

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From On Board: Meet photographer, Harry Rogers

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Guests aboard modern expedition cruise ships now enjoy many benefits that were never available when I first sailed aboard the sturdy old ex-Soviet vessels in the late 1990s.

The cavalcade of enrichment that has always been part of the expedition experience is now further enhanced with dedicated photographers and videographers whose task it is to record the voyages for guests. Once upon a time, a camera was just thrown into the hands of an available crew member, but now we are seeing credentialled documentary artists produce broadcast and magazine-quality material as a permanent reminder for guests to keep as lasting mementoes of their life-changing vacations.

From On Board: How to enjoy a day at sea #expeditioncruising

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A day at sea has the potential to be one of the duller sections of a long expedition voyage. The side gates are stowed, the zodiacs strapped down and the coffee tends to flow. Lectures are attended and much fabulous knowledge imparted but in between our minds can wander. For those keeping a weather eye on the horizon there may be a thing or two to make them stand and raise a pair of binoculars to their eyes. Perhaps a migratory sea bird soars on locked wings, riding the air pockets above the waves. Perhaps a lonely boat is tossed on a choppy sea. Perhaps an intrepid whale takes their necessary breaths of air on their long trek through the deep oceans.